A Little Privacy Would Be Nice
by Dude13
Summary: Frankie is just about finished with her errands, except she just has one little thing to tend to....of course it's too good to be true for this to end smoothly. Oneshot.


**Author's Warning**: Like everything else, this takes place in my series, set up by the events in my first story "More Than My Friend" where the big event is that Frankie adopts Mac and becomes his guardian. If you haven't read that story yet, I strongly suggest you do so now, or else you might get terribly confused.

* * *

"…Okay, just to make sure…which one looks better? This? Or this?" The redhead asked as for the seventh time she first held up the small black dress to her lanky frame, and then did the exact same with a near-identical garment that she held in her other hand.

"Well?" Frances "Frankie" Foster inquired, eager for input. "What do you think, pal? Which one do you like better? _This_ one…or _this_ one?"

The boy standing a few feet away just clapped his hands over the side of his head, as if he was having so much difficulty fathoming her indecisiveness it actually pained him.

"…They're the _same_ thing." He answered yet again, while silently praying desperately that his guardian would actually listen to him. Much to his dismay however, the instant he raised this objection, Frankie promptly squatted down and began explaining ever so diligently why he was mistaken.

"No, see, _this_ one's cut a little bit shorter at the bottom. Also, you can see how they used a darker dye on…"

Despite her best efforts, all the poor child simply couldn't spot the specific details like she could for the life of him, a fact he made quite clear when he gazed straight into her eyes and protested softly, yet defiantly, "It's the _same_ exact dress."

As she read the exasperation stamped over his expression it was about then that Frankie realized the child was reaching the limits of his patience. It wasn't as if she could blame him though, for after she checked her digital wristwatch she saw that much to her embarrassment, she had been comparing the two garments she found in the bargain rack for the last ten minutes or so.

"Yikes! Jeez, have I been taking _that_ long?" she yelped before flashing her charge an apologetic frown. "Oh, I'm sorry pal! I'm sorry! Look, I'll just go and buy the…no, I think I'll get the…wait, but this one's a few bucks cheaper…"

As she glanced back and forth between her two options, the young woman appeared to be hopelessly torn over which one she wanted to purchase. After glancing back and forth between the two dresses for at least several times, she paused, chewed on her lower lip for a moment, then grimaced guiltily at her charge.

"Mac…" she moaned. "I'm sorry, I just…look, could I…sorry, just try each one on quickly? It _won't_ take any longer than five minutes I swear! Just five more minutes, and we'll be all set with all our errands today, okay?"

Fortunately for her, the good-natured child wasn't usually the pushy type at all, and actually smiled weakly as he replied, "Okay. Just five more minutes?"

"And not a second more." She added for good measure as she tousled his hair. "You hear that too, Bloo? We're heading out in…"

The words died on her lips the instant she realized a certain imaginary blob was absolutely nowhere to be found in sight, even though she could've sworn he had been lying against a nearby clothing rack and bemoaning about how bored to death he was just moments before. As she cast a few futile glances about, her stomach immediately began to twist itself into a massive knot.

"Oh, _no_." she groaned in despair as her pulse promptly doubled its pace. "Don't tell me…"

"It's okay," Mac immediately tried to assuage her alarm. "He's probably just wandering around. Look, you go try those on, and I'll go find him. All right?"

"Okay." She groaned as she whirled around and went her way, muttering under her breath all the while. "Figures this happens right when we're about to finish our errands…I swear, I'm getting a leash for that little…"

As she jogged off towards the changing rooms, Mac promptly set out searching about the outlet store, calling his creation's name all the while as he looked.

"Bloo?" he cried as he wandered about the veritable forest of clothing racks and shelves. "Blooooo! Bloo? C'mon, we're leaving soon! Bloo? Where are-_OOF_!"

Just as he passed by the store entrance for the second time, the child was suddenly knocked clean off his feet as a veritable azure missile struck him from behind, taking all the wind out of him as he made a rough landing upon the floor.

"_OW_!" Mac grunted. "What the-"

"Mac! Mac! Mac!" the gumdrop-shaped blob atop him squealed gleefully as quivered from head to nonexistent feet in excitement so intense it looked as if the little imaginary friend was going to burst. "Mac! Mac! You'll _never_ guess what I found! Never ever! You'll never guess!"

"Get _off_ of me!" Mac yelled as he struggled in vain to crawl out from where he lay pinned beneath his hopelessly over-ecstatic creation. Alas, his efforts were for naught as Bloo burst out chattering jubilantly,

"I found a pet store here in the mini-mall! Just right next door to this place, a pet store!" he whooped, sounding as if he had just won the lottery. "You should see what they have in there! There have hamsters, parakeets, fish, guinea-pigs, and fish! Oooooh, and the lizards! Itty-bitty little green guys, who eat _real_ crickets and stuff! I know, because I saw them feeding them when I walked in! Isn't that awesome? Isn't it? Seriously just how cool is _that_?"

"_Ow_! _Ow_! _Oof_!" was all Mac could cry out in reply as the imaginary blob's excitement reached such a pinnacle, the little creature started leaping up and down joyfully while still perched atop his creator.

"And they're _so_ cheap, too! It's only like, a couple dollars for one lizard! We have to get a couple! We _have_ to!" Bloo declared steadfastly. "We just have to, Mac! Quick, where's Frankie? Where's she? I need a few bucks for-"

"Changing rooms! _Ow_! She's in the changing rooms! _Ouch_! She's in the-_OW_! Bloo, settle down!" Mac begged desperately. "Settle down! Quit it_,_ Bloo! Knock it off! _OW_!"

As soon as he received his answer, the imaginary friend was off in a flash, squealing excitedly at the top of his lungs,"Frankie! Frankieeeee! Frankie, can we get a lizard? Huh? Frankie? Can we?"

"_AUGH_!" Mac wailed in panic as hastily clambered to his feet and took off after his friend. "Bloo, wait! Hold on, just wait a minute! Wait a minute! You're not gonna-"

The child had thrown every ounce of energy he possessed in his frantic sprint. Alas, even this intense burst of effort wasn't even close to what he needed to catch up, forcing him to merely observe helplessly from afar as his imaginary friend made a beeline into the women's changing rooms.

"Bloo, _NO_!" he gasped as he ground to a halt. "Bloo-"

"_There_ you are!" the child could hear his creation cry triumphantly. "I knew that was your sweater hanging over the door. Frankie, can I-"

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHH_!"

As the eardrum shattering shriek reverberated throughout the small outlet store, Mac slapped his hands tightly over his ears to keep from being deafened by the excruciatingly loud clamor. Just moments later, a panicked cashier bolted from the register and arrived on the scene, calling out as she clumsily skidded to a halt, "Ma'am? Ma'am is everything all right in there?"

For a few moments all that could be heard was what sounded suspiciously like the din of a small struggle, and as Mac listened to what appeared to be someone clapping a hand over someone else's mouth, Frankie's voice suddenly rang out hoarsely, "Uh…everything's all right….n-no need to come in, I-I got it…"

"Ma'am, what happened?" the slightly heavyset cashier implored worriedly. "Are you hurt? Do you need anyone to come in and-"

"_No_!" the redhead yelped in panic, before she hastily tried to put on her calm façade again and answered, "I….um…no, no, I just….I, uh….was just….trying on a…pair of jeans….yeah, and the…uh…I got my….my…um…my…er…finger? Yeah, I uh…got it caught in the…in a…zipper, while I…oh, but no need to come in! It was only trapped in there for a second or so, I'm fine, really!"

"Are you sure?" the store worker inquired cautiously. "We have a first-aid kit up front by the-"

"I'm fine, just fine!" the desperate girl sputtered with a nervous laugh. "It's…it's just a little bruised, that's all! Only a little accident, won't happen again! Sorry for the nasty scare, I'm all right! Really, I'm fine, perfectly okay!"

"Oh…all right…" the cashier muttered. "It's not a problem…just glad to hear that you're all right…I guess…"

Wearing a bemused expression, the woman promptly trundled back out front to her register. As soon as she had left, one of the dressing room stalls was angrily kicked open, startling Mac terribly and forcing him to leap a little in surprise. Meanwhile, Frankie, clad in her zipped-up jacket and skirt, both of which looked like they had been very hastily thrown back on, stormed out as she carried along with her one extremely unlucky blob by the scruff of his neck. As she dropped him none too gently upon the floor, her skin seemed to glow with a brilliant scarlet glow, though whether she was simply blushing in embarrassment or just extraordinarily enraged, it was difficult to tell at first.

"Hey, c'mon!" the azure miscreant whined as he inadvertently cowered under her fierce gaze. "What gives? I-I just wanted to ask you something-"

Without a word of warning, the young woman suddenly increased the ferocity of her glare at least fourfold. The instant he saw the roaring infernos in her emerald eyes, the little creature was instantaneously frightened into total silence, excluding the few hoarse whimpers he inadvertently emitted.

"Okay," Frankie spoke in a low hiss as she got down upon one knee. "I'm going to ask you this once, and _only_ once, so you better choose your answer wisely. If you have to tell someone something while they're busy, what would you say would be more…'polite' as we'll put it; waiting patiently like a normal person…"

At this she suddenly drew her face so close their faces were only inches away as she snarled, "Or barging right in on them while they're only half-dressed and embarrassing them half to death in front of an entire store? _Hmmm_?"

"W-w…w-w-w…w-waiting like…l-like….like…l-l-like…." Bloo struggled to stammer in the terror that had quickly overtaken him before finally managing to answer "Th-the first ch-choice…"

He seemed to have gotten the message, hopefully. And as indescribably annoyed as she still was, it simply wasn't in the caretaker's nature to drag this out any further. She could get aggravated like any other person of course, but she was quite far from the type of woman who'd revel gleefully in others' fear. Also, the little imaginary friend _did_ seem to be sorry for what he had done. With a heavy sigh, Frankie quickly softened her expression and gave the cowering blob a gentle pat on the head.

"Please…just _don't_ do it again, all right?" she implored softly.

"O-okay." Bloo whimpered before he promptly bolted off and took cover behind his creator, standing just a few feet away.

"Keep an eye on him, okay?" Frankie implored her charge wearily as she rubbed her temples. "I'll be out in just a few minutes."

"Okay, Frankie." Mac replied obediently. With this, the young woman turned about and made a beeline back towards the changing rooms, leaving the child to tend to his badly shaken creation.

"…Now, why did _that_ seem like a good idea?" Mac inquired with a groan.

"I...I dunno…" Bloo whimpered. "I-I just…I just really, really wanted a lizard, and I only wanted to check with Frankie to see if we could get a couple...a-and I really thought shed say yes because…because…"

It was all the work of a moment; before his friend's very eyes, the azure blob abruptly went from a quivering mess to nearly exploding with excitement once again as he remembered something.

"Bloo?" Mac inquired cautiously as a tremendous smile took root upon his creation's features and spread across the entire width of his face. "Bloo, what-"

"Because it was a three-for-two sale! Yeah! Three lizards for just the price of two!" Bloo whooped ecstatically. "I gotta tell Frankie, I just _gotta_! She won't be able to say no after she hears about _that_ bargain! She'll-"

He had barely taken one step towards the changing rooms before Mac jumped right in his way, with arms stretched out wide.

"Bloo, _no_!" the boy admonished fiercely.

"What?" the little figment whined. "I was just gonna tell Frankie-"

"Bloo, don't you remember what Frankie just said two minutes ago?" Mac beseeched.

Immediately the little imaginary friend paused and thought long and hard for a few moments. "Oh…oh that's right, I gotta remember to do the _polite_ thing."

Moving faster than the eye could follow, he darted around his startled creator and dashed into the nearest changing booth, asking calmly, "Excuse me, Frankie? Excuse me? Could I _please_ ask you a question while you change?"

"_YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK_!" the incredibly shrill shriek rang out loud and clear, as once again Mac had no choice but to stand by and watch helplessly as the chaos unfolded before his very eyes.

"_NO_!" the mortified child yelped. "Bloo, that's _not_ what Frankie meant! That's not what she-"

"What do you _mean_ that's not what I meant?" the very redhead in question demanded as she waltzed right up to the child from behind, fully clothed and with black strapless dress in hand.

"Y'know, when…." Mac stopped dead in mid-sentence and went as pale as fresh snow once he realized who he was talking to her, much to her confusion.

"Pal? You okay?" she worriedly inquired of the ashen-faced boy.

"F-Frankie…you're-" he sputtered.

"Yeah, I decided I liked the first dress better, and I went to put the second one back on the…didn't you hear me? I told you when I passed by you guys while you were talking to…wait a minute, _where's_-"

She received her answer almost immediately when a hideous chorus of horrified screams erupted as a certain blob crawled or leapt from booth to booth in a straight line, while always making sure to ask every unfortunate woman politely, "Excuse me, Frankie? May I please-"

"_AUGH_!"

"Whoops, my bad! Hold on, just lemme scoot by…excuse me, Frankie? Could I please-"

"_EEK_! _PERVERT_!"

"Oops, not in this one, either! Sorry! Here, I just gotta…excuse me, Frankie? Could you please-"

"_AAAAAAAAAAAA_!"

"Yeesh, what's with _you_? I _said_ excuse me, didn't I? Cripes, the nerve of some people…excuse, me? Frankie? You in here?"

"_EEEEEEEEEEK_!"

"Whoa, whoa! What is this, amateur opera? Chill out, will ya? I just…"

As Bloo persistently continued onwards, all the while Mac and Frankie just stared dumbstruck in synchronized horror as the shrieks continued to ring out loud and clear. Suddenly, the unspeakably mortified young woman abruptly cast the dress she held aside, nabbed Mac's hand tightly, and started in a beeline for the store exit.

"Hey, what are you-" Mac yelped before the quick-thinking redhead abruptly shushed him.

"Shhh…eyes straight ahead…don't look back…" she instructed. "Eyes forward…always forward…nice and calm…we didn't see anything, we're just two innocent shoppers leaving the store…nothing more..."

As Mac watched the veritable army of alarmed store workers stampede by towards the dressing rooms, he tightened his squeeze on her hand as he obediently did as told.

"That's it…" Frankie murmured encouragingly. "Always looking forward…as far as everyone knows, we didn't come with any blue blob, we don't know any blue blob, we didn't see any blue blob…and we're just gonna wait out in the parking lot and try and pick him up when he eventually bolts out…all right?"

Despite her best efforts to handle their little dilemma as calmly and coolly as she could, she couldn't help but murmur despairingly as they exited outside, "We seriously just can't win with him, can we?"

Mac groaned. "_Please_ don't tell me you've only figured that out now…"

**The End**


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